The present invention relates to an air-conditioning unit.
Recently, various low-pollution vehicles have been developed as a response to environmental problems. Electric vehicles, one type of low-pollution vehicles, have been developed actively and put to practical use. Each electric vehicle runs a drive motor using a battery as the energy source. A motor-driven compressor, which uses an electric motor as the drive source, is used as a compressor for an air-conditioning systems in electric vehicles.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. Hei 8-216671 discloses an air-conditioning system that uses a motor-driven compressor as shown in FIG. 7.
A case 52 of an air-conditioning system 51 houses a condenser 53, an evaporator 54 and a motor-driven compressor 55. The case 52 is divided into first, second and third chambers 60, 70 and 80. The first chamber 60 accommodates the condenser 53, the second chamber 70 accommodates the evaporator 54, and the third chamber 80 accommodates a horizontal type motor-driven compressor 55 and a four-way valve 56. The condenser 53, the evaporator 54, the motor-driven compressor 55 and the four-way valve 56 are connected together by pipes 57a to 57d, which form a passage for a refrigerant gas. A motor-driven expansion valve 58 is provided on the pipe 57c that connects the condenser 53 to the evaporator 54.
In consideration of environmental problems, carbon dioxide has recently been used as a refrigerant. In this case, the pressure inside each of the pipes 57a-57d is higher than that where chlorofluorocarbon, or freon, is used as a refrigerant. This causes refrigerant gas to leak through the joint sections of the pipes 57a-57d. When the pipes are long, the probability of cracks and other kinds of damage increases. Such damages including cracks will result in leakage of the refrigerant gas.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a compact air-conditioning unit that prevents with certainty leakage of the refrigerant that circulates through the air-conditioning unit.
To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides an air-conditioning unit. The air-conditioning unit comprises a compressor component for compressing a refrigerant, a condenser component for condensing the refrigerant, and an evaporator component for evaporating the refrigerant. At least two of the compressor, the condenser and the evaporator components are assembled integrally.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.